Social

If you’ve driven past US 41 between Colonial Blvd and Boy Scout Drive over the last several months, you may be wondering what’s coming to Fort Myers, Fla.

The plot of land used to be a
mobile home park
but it is now the future home of AT&T, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and a 280-unit upscale apartment complex – Grand Central.

On May 26, 2016, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Fort Myers approved a
12-year tax rebate
for the new apartment complex. The luxury apartments will offer one and two-bedroom apartments within the range of $950-$1,500 a month.

“What’s interesting about this project is that the City of Fort Myers is involved in it,” said Brett Low, a commercial real estate agent at LandQuest.

The Grand Central project is in a Tax Increment Financing area. TIF is a public financing method used as a subsidy for redevelopment, infrastructure, and community-improvement projects. “This helped the developer come in and make this a viable project,” Brett said.

Once complete, there will be seven buildings that will take up about 15,000 square feet of retail space.

With construction already underway, Brett expects at least 450 jobs to come to the area.

Development is just starting, but the plan is to have the retail side completed by the end of 2018.

Brett hopes this project will be the beginning of something more significant for the city of Fort Myers.

“Fort Myers is a pretty little town,” Brett shared. “If we can have redevelopment along the U.S. 41 corridor, with some new architecture, it will go a long way to make it architecturally pleasing.”